The global molecular diagnostics market will grow by $2.4 billion over the next five years according to a global market report from Medtech Insight. Major factors contributing to the healthy growth of this market include advances in technology, as well as the growing understanding of the human genome, pharmacogenomics and the relationship between genes and disease/infection.

Q4 device financing reached $902 million versus Q3’s $734 million, while device M&A dollar volume increased $19 billion, from Q3’s $4.9 billion. Diagnostics companies raised $750 million, an 85% rise over the previous quarter’s $405 million; although diagnostics M&A totaled just $1 billion, it was the most deal-active quarter of 2014 with 11 transactions.

In many ways, the year in diagnostics can be characterized as “more of the same.” The biggest newsmaker was FDA’s finally taking steps toward establishing an oversight framework for the regulation of laboratory-developed tests.

Device funding increased 123% to $1.6 billion in Q2, and M&A activity was overshadowed by Medtronic’s massive $47 billion acquisition of Covidien. Diagnostics fundraising dropped slightly to $522 million, and there were multiple takeovers of life sciences companies.